Blogging Blue

On the eve of Wisconsin’s spring election day, I’m going to make a few picks.

Wisconsin Supreme Court: This is a no brainer. Michael Gableman has run one of the most disgustingly vile and dishonest campaigns in as long as I can remember, and in doing so he’s exposed himself as supremely unqualified and unfit to sit on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court. Louis Butler has shown himself to be a more than capable jurist, and he deserves a full term on the Supreme Court.

Milwaukee County Executive: There’s no denying Lena Taylor has run a poor campaign, but putting aside the quality of her campaign, she’s the only reasonable choice for Milwaukee County Executive. Scott Walker’s had plenty of time to deliver on campaign promises past and present, and I daresay his tenure as Milwaukee County Executive will be remembered as one of broken promises and incompetence.

Milwaukee County Supervisor, District 8: Pat Jursik is running unopposed, and for good reason. She’s done a good job in her short tenure as Supervisor for the 8th District, and she deserves a full four year term.

Veto Referendum: I’m voting yes. Wisconsin’s “Frankenveto” has been abused by Democrats and Republicans alike, and even if the referendum passes, our governor will still have some of the broadest veto powers of any governor in the United States.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court: Both Rebecca Dallet and Jeffrey Norman seem qualified, but having met and spoken with Rebecca Dallet, I believe she has the temperment and smarts to be an asset to Milwaukee County on the Circuit Court.

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Two weeks ago today, I spent some time blogging about the rather bleak state of the U.S. economy. Among the economic indicators I highlighted were the following:

• Price of crude oil over $100 a barrel.
• National industrial output falls instead of increasing.
• National mortgage crisis, forcing several large finance companies to the brink of bankruptcy if not for intervention by the Fed.
• Value of the U.S. dollar at an all-time low against the Euro.

Now comes news payrolls shrunk for the third month in March, further pointing to a turn down (read, recession) of our economy. What’s more, Dennis Lockhart, the president of the Atlanta Federal Reserve, has said our economy appears to be headed towards a recession:

“It’s clear the economy is in a slowdown that resembles past periods that were the leading edge of a recession,” Lockhart told a Rotary Club meeting in Chattanooga, Tennessee. “I believe that an important policy objective at this juncture is to ensure that this slowdown is short and shallow.”

But hey, at least our mall parking lots are still full.

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If I remember correctly, Scott Walker was elected to serve as County Executive largely on the promise he’d rectify the scandal-ridden quagmire that had become the county’s pension system.

And yet, all these years later, we’re still hearing tales about a stunning lack of oversight over the county’s pension system:

Milwaukee County pension officials say they mistakenly overpaid former House of Correction superintendent Richard Cox and will seek a refund of more than $100,000 - one of 115 newly discovered pension payout errors.

The disclosure comes in a new filing with the IRS that admits numerous systemic mistakes caused pension overpayments and underpayments from 1994 through the present. The county is seeking refunds in some cases.

Necessary reviews of payouts were left undone and the county’s own pension laws were not followed in the various cases, says the IRS “voluntary correction” filing. It comes nine months after a Journal Sentinel investigation of county “buyback” pension benefits prompted a similar admission to the IRS.

…

The total price tag on the mistakes has not been determined, but could approach $1 million including pensioners’ and the county’s liability, according to estimates based on the county’s filing.

So let’s recap:

• 115 newly discovered pension payout errors? Thank you, Scott Walker!
• Laws not being followed? Thank you, Scott Walker!
• Liability approaching one million dollars? Thank you, Scott Walker!
• General lack of oversight over Milwaukee County’s pension system, despite promises to clean things up? Thank you, Scott Walker!

Scott Walker’s failure to clean up and fix Milwaukee County’s pension system is just another in a long line of promises he’s broken, and that’s why it’s time for new leadership for Milwaukee County.

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behold, the latest press release from the Republican Party of Wisconsin (emphasis mine):

RPW: Dean working damage control
3/26/2008

Contact: Kirsten Kukowski, (608) 257-4765

MADISON – With Howard Dean in Madison to do major damage control for the ailing Democratic Party, Mark Jefferson, Executive Director of the Republican Party had the following statement:

“With the Democratic Party in turmoil while Senators Obama and Clinton fight for votes from the radical left, Howard Dean now looks to liberal Madison as he tries to put his Party back on track.

But with threats to our nation’s security and economy, it is clear John McCain is the only presidential candidate capable of leading our country forward. As the Democrats continue to cater to the left and turn their backs on each other, Wisconsin voters will turn to John McCain as the candidate who can bring America together.”

Think about that…”with threats to our nation’s security and economy, it is clear John McCain is the only presidential candidate capable of leading our country forward.” Keeping that sentence in mind, let’s take a look at what John McCain - who according to the RPW is the only candidate capable of leading our country forward on the economy - has to say about his own knowledge of the nation’s economy:

November, 2005:

“I’m going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated.”

Now I’m sure you’re saying, “yeah, but McCain’s had three years to bone up on economic issues, so I’m sure he’s fully capable now,” so I’d point to what McCain had to say in December, 2007:

“The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should. I’ve got Greenspan’s book.”

So let me get this straight….John McCain freely admits he doesn’t have a good grasp on the nation’s economy, yet the Republican Party of Wisconsin has the stones to say he’s the best man for the job of leading our nation’s economy forward? To be honest, I look forward to a general election in which McCain’s lack of a firm grasp on economic issues can be brought to the forefront of the discussion, because the economy is shaping up to be the defining issue of this election cycle, and John McCain’s presidential aspirations could very well rest on whether he finally gets a grip on the economy.

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So says Walker campaign staffer Tim Russell, in talking about the following ad that’s been all over the airwaves in the past week or so:

Now sure, it’s a pretty decent ad, but as Greg Borowski of the MJS reported, the ad’s not really that unique, borrowing heavily from a theme most recently used by former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist during his 2000 re-election campaign. However, when prompted by a “longtime political observer,” Borowski queried the Walker campaign to find out if any of the folks featured in Walker’s ad were paid actors, as opposed to being the “real citizens” the ad portrays them to be. The Walker campaign’s response?
“They’re all real people,” Tim Russell of the Walker campaign said. “They’re all real people” - seems pretty unambiguous, right?

It sure does, except that it’s not really true. After Borowski posted his story, Tim Russell fired off an email clarifying his assertion that all the individuals in the ad were “real people.”

“I did not intend to say that none of the people in the ad were talent. Our
agency had talent on hand for the taping in case our volunteers didn’t
work out. We had a couple that got stage fright and were replaced
with people the agency had on hand. I apologize if I was unclear in
my answer.”

Unclear is one thing, but Russell seemed pretty clear and unambiguous when he said none of the individuals in the ad were “real people.” Instead of trying to explain away his lie, Russell should have the gumption to simply fess up and admit he lied, instead of trying to spin his comments as him “not being clear.”

H/T to xoff.

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